Improvement in bank-locks



'MTED LYMAN' DERBY, lOF NEV YORK, N.

IMPROVEMENT IN BANK-LOCKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. S2 Lt?, dated November 2, 1858.

'o all 'whom it may concern Be it known that I, LYMAN DERBY, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Locking or Bolting the Doors of Banks, Bank-Safes, or other places, by means ot' an automatic machine arranged on the inside of the sate; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full description of the same.

The nature of my invention consists in securing to the inside of the door a bar or series of bars or crossbars so arranged as to revolve on one common center, which is fastened in the door in such a Way as to permit a handle or knob being attached to it on the outside of the door to latch the bars when the` door is closed; also, the mode of constructing and operating a spring-latching lever by mea-ns ot' a simple clock movement, so that however ponderous the loekingbars maybe the power of an ordinary clock-movement Will be sufticient for the purposes required, and as each of the parts-to wit, the locking-bars, pendulous latchin g lever, and clock movementare detached and operate independent of each other, except in the operation of unlatehing the locking-bars, it can be seen at once that the greatest amount of security is attained by the least possible amount of mechanism and power.

But to describe my invention more particularly I will refer to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, the same letters of reference, wherever they occur, referring to like part-s.

Figure l is an interior view ot' a sate, looking in from the back of it, and exhibiting the crossbars7 latching levers, and automaton. Fig. 2 is a front elevation ofthe safe, exhibiting the handle secured in the axis of the crossbars on the interior of the door of the sat'e for latching them. Fig. 3 is a transverse eutsection of the safe, through the line w no, Fig. l.

Letters A arerepresentations of the walls of an ordinary iron safe, and B the door thereot'. To the inside of the door is secured a cross-bar, C, on an axis, D. This axis is arranged eccentric to the true center of the cross. The object of this is to cause the bars, immediately on being released from the latchinglever, to withdraw from the recesses in the sides ot'l the safe, in consequence of the preponderance of weight in the back end of the cross-bars. It will be obvious'that this same effect can be produced by weightin the back end of the bars should the axes be in their true center.

Attached to the axis on the outside of the door of the sat'e is a handle, E. The object of this handle is to latch the bars when. the door is closed, the ends of which are held iu brackets F F, secured on the inner surface ofthe door, so as not only to prevent the bars rotating too far, but at the same time to support and strengthen them. It is not absolutely necessary that this handle should be centered in the cross-bars for the purpose of latchingthe'm, or that the axis of the cross-bars should eX- tend entirely through the door, as there are many very obvious ways of latching the bars; but I d0 not think a more simple mode can be suggested in view oi' the design of having the bars to drop of their own gravity when unlatched.

Letter G is a pendulous spring-latch lever, secured to the inside of the safe by a center pin, H. This center pin is arranged so as to be on a line or nearly sowith the end of the cross-bar. The object of this is to have the latch g2 as near as possible on a line with the center pin, that any power applied to lift the cross-bars to open the door will have to be eX- erted upon the pin before it could be opened, while at the same time a small spring, I, may be applied to hold the latch gziu Whatever postion the safe may be in upon the end of the bar, to keep it locked till the detaching-piu J in the dial-plate K, comes round and raises the long arm of the latchinglever G, to let the bars drop from the recesses in the sides ofthe safe.

Letter L represents the frame of an ordinary clock-movement, which is exhibited as secured in the chamber ot' the safe. In practically building safes for the applicationof my method ot' locking them, recesses will be formed in the sides ofthe safe in such a Way as to be out of the way entirely, and

the clock-movements will be concealed within4 them.

As any ordinary clock-movement not using a pendulum can be used for unlocking` the door of the safe at stated times, l do not deem it material to describe the clock movements, otherwise than to specify it under the general name of a clock-movement, and therefore claim the use of any such application oi the same for the purposes set forth.

Having` now described my invention, I will proceed to set forth what l claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States.

l. The'use of the bars or cross-bars secured on an axis eccentric toits true center for the purpose of obtaining gravity to unlatch them, in combination with the inside of the door of a safe or other place, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

2.- lhe use of a pendulous latch-lever secured to the inside of a safe, in combination with the bars or cross-bars operating, as hereinbefore set forth, on the inside of the door of a safe, and for the purposes described.

3. The use of the application of a clock- Work movement, in combination with an inverted V- shaped pendulous latch -lever and bars or cross-bars on the inside of the door of a safe, for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

LYMAN DERBY.

In presence of- HoRATIo Donn, EDWARD HINLAND. 

